


The Minutes Between

by Emma_Wolf



Category: Continuum (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 21:41:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14066154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emma_Wolf/pseuds/Emma_Wolf
Summary: Takes place between Revolutions Per Minute and 3 Minutes to Midnight. Brad's memories come back after taking Flash, and Kiera is there to comfort him. Then he remembers he killed her.





	The Minutes Between

The first thing Brad remembered was his family. The floral scent of Melinda’s perfume. Melinda spending what seemed like hours at the department store trying to find the right valences to match their wallpaper. Elenia playing outside. The injured kitten she had found and brought home. Birthdays and his wedding. School plays and family game nights. And then the war came. Their death and his grief.

The next thing he remembered was putting a bullet in Kiera’s head.

Kiera Cameron. The name that had been echoing in his head for days. The name that he seemed to hear everywhere. In half-heard conversations between strangers. As wind blew through trees. In the hum of traffic and all the noises of the city. The woman who he had followed around like a lost puppy. Who had brought him home and let her sleep on her sofa. Like Elenia with her kitten, Kiera Cameron had nursed him back to health.

And he had killed her.

He wished he could take that minute back and forget. Or go back in time again and warn himself from sixty seconds ago not to take Flash.

Brad’s mouth fumbled over the words, telling Kiera only part of the story. But her sympathy was worse now that he knew how little he deserved it. She said she was right there for him.

And he had killed her.

She said how sorry she was.

And he had killed her.

She was the only person who might possibly understand a fraction of what he was going through.

And he had killed her.

She reached out for him. “I’m right here,” she said again. She put her hand on his arm. Right here, right now. How long ago was it that she was lying dead on the floor of Alec’s lab? How long had he been asleep?

He pressed his hand to hers, keeping it in place. Her breath caught in her throat. Kiera was crying. Why was she crying? It wasn’t her family who had died. She still had hope that she could return to Greg and Sam and a world that hadn’t gone dark. It was Brad who had nothing to return to. He wondered if it matter anymore since everything that he wanted was sitting in front of him. Like Eurydice, she had returned after he had killed her. And like Orpheus, he feared losing her again.

“Never look back.”

He didn’t realize he had spoken, but Kiera was shaking her head. “It doesn’t have to be like that,” she said softly. “We can send you back. We can find a way.”

He reached his hand to her face to trace away the tears. How had he gone from remembering his wife, to remembering killing Kiera, to wanting her so fast? In another minute, would they have children and grandchildren and be growing old together? How long did it take to fall in love when time travel was involved?

He shook his head. “I don’t want to go back. There’s nothing for me then. Only now.”

Her lips tasted like wine when he kissed her. His hands wove through her hair, holding her tightly, still afraid she’d slip away.

Her hands found him. His strong jaw under the hipster beard. His muscular arms. His firm chest. Shaking, her fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt.

With astonishing ease, he swooped her up in her arms and carried her up the stairs. He took her to her bedroom and set her on her bed as though she were a precious package.

“Kiera Cameron,” he whispered as he kissed her neck. “Kiera Cameron,” he whispered as he slid his hands under her shirt.

“Brad Tonkin,” she said finally, grabbing his face and not wanting to be treated with such delicacy. Greg had been this gentle, as though Kiera, CPS Protector and ex-servicewoman, would break. “Field Commander,” she said as she ripped open his shirt and whipped the belt out his pants. “Brad Tonkin,” she said again as she nibbled on his earlobe and dug her nails into his back.

He liked the sound of his name on her lips. He liked the violence too. It reminded him of home. Of war, taking sides, and betrayal.

In the morning, Kiera showered and dressed quickly. “Food,” she said as she left the house with a lightness in her step.

He wanted to tell her then. He wanted to scream at her to wait. But he remembered then what he wished the Flash would have kept from him—Brad Tonkin, Field Commander of the Cowichan River Militia, was a coward. He didn’t volunteer, he left. He left because he couldn’t face life in the dark present without Melinda and Elenia. You can’t travel through time to change the present, only to escape from it. And Eurydice would never love Orpheus if she knew that it had been he who killed her.

So Brad Tonkin, Field Commander, left again.

**Author's Note:**

> I was very disappointed in the lack of Kiera/Brad fic, so I did my part to rectify the situation.


End file.
